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Angel - Season Two Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 27 Reviews)

yeah
There isn't a single season of Angel I don't love. Can't say the same for Buffy...

I don't have a favorite season of Angel, but what I love about this one is Angel's obession with killing everyone at Wolfram&Heart. The gray area he touches, were he's not Angel and he's not Angelus is amazing.
Plus I always loved Drucilla and she's back. The story behind the original group with Dru, Spike, Angelus, and Darla is great.

I would recomend this series over Buffy any day. Buy it!

As Darla said it was neither Angel nor Angelus in Season 2
Season Two was when both Angel and "Angel" lost its way. On the one hand you can clearly define this episode in terms of the character of the Host (Andy Hallett), who first pops up in "Judgment" as the host of Caritas, a karaoke joint that serves as a safe haven for demons. The next thing we know Angel (David Boreanaz) is singing, for lack of a better word, "Mandy." At the end of the year we learn that the Host is actually Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, shortened to the convenience and conventions of this dimension as "Lorne," and Angel Investigations ends up "Over the Rainbow" is Pylea, where things are totally "Through the Looking Glass," and they learn that "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb." This is all fun enough, but in between we have Angel letting Darla (Julie Benz) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) snack on the lawyers of Wolfram & Hart ("Reunion") and then lights the two fem fatale vamps on fire ("Redefinition"). In between, Angel fires everybody at Angel Investigations.

One of the things we have come to expect from a series created (or co-created) by Joss Whedon is the ability to play both light and dark. We have also come to expect a story-arc for the first half of the season that combines in some interesting way with the second half story-arc. What that means here is that Angel spends the first half of the second season destroying everything he has built because of Darla, and the second half trying to put it back together again after an initial period where he does not especially want to. For me the problem is that while the previous season ended with the revelation that Wolfram & Hart had brought back Darla, it also revealed the correct translation of the word "shanshu" was "to live" rather than "to die." Once the vampire with a soul fulfills his destiny, he (read Angel at this point) will become human as his reward. Angel allowed, "That'd be nice." How we got from that Angel to the one smoking a cigarette so he could flick it into a pool of gasoline to torch Darla and Drusilla is what makes the first half of the season interesting. As Darla correctly observes, the creature who did this was neither Angel nor Angelus.

Even if we do not agree with the dark place to which Angel goes in this second season, Whedon and series co-creator David Greenwalt justify the transformation. The series was fortunate in bringing back the character of Darla because over the next two seasons Julie Benz was going to turn in the best performance by a recurring guest star on either "Angel" (or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") culminating in the show's best moment when Connor is born in the third season. The mind games that Darla plays with Angel, aided and abetted by the Wolfram & Hart tag team of Lindsey McDonald (Christian Kane) and Lila Morgan (Stephanie Romanov), provides adequate motivation, especially when Angel fails to save Darla and she is turned back into a vampire by Drusilla.

For me the problem is getting from that dark place to Angel basking in the sunlight of Pylea, made possible because it takes six episodes for Angel to see the light ("Epiphany"). It seems to me that should have been the big finale for the show's second season given how dark it was getting, but instead we get the comic adventures of the gang in a demon dimension. True, we get the sight of Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) as queen, the addition of Amy Acker as Fred, and the season ends with Alyson Hannigan showing up as Willow to tell Angel by just the look on her face that something has happened to Buffy. But given Angel's dark descent the reversal at the end is rather disquieting (and certainly unique in the dozen "BtVS"/"Angel" finales).

The best episodes in Season Two usually have to do with the Darla plot line, with Drala setting Kate Lockley (Elisabeth Rohm) after Angel in "Dear Boy," Angel facing "The Trial" to try and save Darla (who sings "Ill Wind" at Caritas), and Darla and Dru on the town in "Reunion." I also like Lindsey's swan song in "Dead End," thanks to his "evil hand," and especially since Christian Kane sing at Caritas. The two best comedy episodes of the season are "Guise Will be Guise," where Wesley (Alexis Denisov) is mistaken for Angel by a beautiful client, Virginia Bryce (Brigid Brannagh) and tries to play the role the hilt, and then "Disharmony," where Harmony (Mercedes McNab) the vampire shows up on the doorstep of Cordelia and decides to try and go straight (unlike Willow, who has a very funny phone call from Cory). But there really is nothing funnier than the Dance of Shame that Lorne's mother insists upon when her offspring returns home to Pylea (because Lorne's severed head talking was not a surprise).

On balance and from the perspective of looking back on the five season of the show, I think Season 2 was the weakest year of "Angel." That being said, this is a pretty good low point. If they had explored the character who was neither Angel nor Angelus for the rest of the season and really wallowd in the dark stuff I would have rated the season higher because as "Angel" proved the following year it was when things got really bad that the show got really good. Getting away from the flashbacks always being about the Angelus years to an earlier time in Angel's quest for atonement in "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" was a good move and taking advantage of Wolfram & Hart in "Blood Money" were solid stand alone episodes. In the end, the worst thing I can saw about "Angel, Season 2" is that the first half was better than the second half. That might seem a minor complaint, but not with a Joss Whedon show.

One of the finest moments of Angel
This season is the true beginning of Angel, and I just want to point out a few things:

a lot of people said they don't like Darla, I think this is because Darla took a lot of Angel's time, but HELLO, she's actually a very important character, she's Angel's maker for cryin' out loud. And Darla is the strength of this season. and frankly, the placement of Darla really brings out DB's acting talents. If you watched season one and still says he's not that good an actor, season two WILL make you change your mind. I'm gonna point out the episodes that are the best:

Are you now or have you ever been- my all time favorite of Angel's flashbacks. We get to see Angel's reserveness without seeing his patheticness- like we did in Buffy. And also I have to say that the 50s wardrobe is THE BEST look of all Angel's flashbacks. (the worst is the 70s in season four, bleech! I seriously don't believe Angel would wear that). And I love how this episodes puts a little bit of private eye mystery but it's still supernatural in the end.

Dear Boy- I love how Angel played right into Darla's hands yet still remains her formatible foe. the conversation between Angel and Darla in the water tank place is just absolutely glorious. Darla's "Look, no matter how good a boy you are, God doesn't want you, but I still do" makes me wanna scream my insides out. this powerful line just sums up all of Angel's pain and suffering. even if this episode is all crap (which it isn't of course), this line would make me score a 5/5 for this episode, not to mention rest of the conversation.

Guise Will be Guise- my GAWD, this is probably THE MOST FUNNIEST episode of Angel. Wesley posing as Angel just points out all the sterotypes of Angel's character and reminded us why we love Angel, and from it, Wesley.

Darla- Another really powerful Angel and Darla episode. And Angel's most memorable line " favor? is that what you think? you did me a favor.. You Damned me" just completely couples with Darla's line about god doesn't want him. Also the flashbacks were very well done meshing with the present. The only complain I have is the China flashback one. I mean, THAT'S China in the 1900s? PLEASE! I actually do know what my mother country looks like during that time, and it looks like anything but THAT! I guess the producers were too broke to actually do THROUGH research. what's with the you see more foreigner than Chinse people??? And the baby that Angel is suppose is kill to prove himself, I think the baby is suppose to be Chinese, since Darla said they "praying to THEIR God for salvation" But I guess Joss can't find a Chinese couple actors and baby in time.

The Trial- Like the Trinity sister said, Angel half naked, in chains, on knees, in tears.. What could go wrong?? This is also the FIRST time Angel really lose it, usually he's calm, gentle, and snaps at the right time, but never lose in to his anger. The bittersweet ending where Angel saves Darla from herself but couldn't save her fully, promise to be at her side until she dies, then got taken away again just brings more conflict and brilliancy to the show.

Reunion- this episode should really be called: be careful what you wish for. W&H wanted Angel dark, but they just didn't know how dark Angel would get; W&H want to help Darla and Drusilla to do whatevery they want, look what comes out of it. And Angel's darkest moments where he repeats Holland's remark, closes the door and lock the lawyer in makes me chill to the bone, but I also totally applauded. This is why I love Angel, that he's not easily controlled or played by evildoers, and that just because he's a good guy doesn't mean that he would be all soft and merciful.

Redefinition- Angel firing his crew and his crew throwing the blame around is truly funny and pathetic. and Angel locking the lawyers compares nothing to his lighting up Darla and Drusilla like a christmas tree. God I love it when Angel is Dark.

Reprise- I'm almost lost for words discribing David's performance in this episode. He should seriously win an Oscar for it. I mean, when he came out of the elevator and had that terrifying and despair at the same time look on him, he stole my heart, my heart was out and I was ready to bow down and cry: " you are a damn good actor!" and I love the tag where Angel had sex with Darla, using her as a prostitute, how can Angel posses sooo much grace even when doing a terrible thing???

Epiphany- NOOOOO I want Dark Angel baaaaack!!!! But this is an important episode because Angel finally reveals why he was soooo obsessed with Darla and what made him turn to the Dark side. And Angel made his first most important speech at the end. But the part where Angel trying soooo hard to please his friends so to renew their friendship is a little bit hard to watch. Because it doesn't look like it's something Angel would do. But I guess since Angel doesn't have an arrogance problem it is kind of like something he would do, who knows???

Angel then became jumpy and outgoing from here, which I didn't like as much as him dark. there was one other thing I didn't get satisfied about this season- Angel's pure form. I mean, common! THAT'S Angel's pure form???? Angel's pure form is suppose to be terrifying, you know, BEAUTIFUL in a TERRIFYING way, not some guy in a green halloween costume. And what's with the Green??? like there aren't enough green monsters in Pylea they just had to add another one. I mean, I know it's probably because the producers are kinda broke from doing the Pylea set, but Angel's pure form!!! it's really important!!!! Angel's pure form should be kind of like Van Helsing's Dracula monster look; he should at least grow five feet or somethin'. All in all, I don't agree that this season is one of Angel's weakest, weakest should be season three or four, not this one.

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